New Gluten-Free Orzo Recipe & Some Surprising Gluten Culprits!

One of my favorite things about being gluten-free is how good I feel after I eat. I don’t become bloated, no longer suffer from debilitating headaches, or keel over in pain after a meal. I eat, I smile, and I go on with life. It’s quite fantastic really.

There is the odd time, though, where I get tricked into eating gluten by mistake. It doesn’t happen too often; you can expect less and less instances as you become more familiar with what you can and cannot have, but when it does, I feel it in a major way.

Here are some typical foods that may or may not have gluten in them. Some of the labeling can be tricky, so if you’re not sure whether a product contains gluten, contact the company and ask them.

Sauces and soups

As we covered in a previous post, many sauces and soups—store-bought or otherwise—contain wheat as a thickening agent. If you’re out and about on the town, it’s best to order meals that don’t have sauce, or see if the kitchen can make you a sauce sans gluten.

Processed meats

Hot dogs, sausages, luncheon meats and burgers are all considered processed meats and could have gluten lurking in their depths. One of the benefits of going gluten-free is inadvertently cleaning up our diet and opting for fresh meats as opposed to the processed stuff. This shift will do wonders to your health and reduce your grocery costs, too.

Soy sauce

You’ll learn to carry your own gluten-free packets of soya sauce, if you’re a sushi lover like me! Although sushi joints are packed with gluten-free options, many of them are marinated with soy sauce making them also riddled with wheat. Good news is that there are a couple of great companies out there that make a gluten-free soy sauce with absolutely no change to the classic taste.

Condiments and spice mixes

This one was the most challenging for me to get over. Ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, pasta sauce, taco mix, spice blends… many of them are stabilized with wheat and don’t necessarily list it on the label either.

Candy

The ingredient labeled as ‘glucose’ or ‘sugar’ could be derived from wheat. I know, it’s sad. Many candy companies are now beginning to list whether or not their product is gluten-free. It seems every time I go to the store there’s a new gluten-free label on my favorite candy so there’s still hope for us all!

Tea, artificial coffee and non-dairy milks

The culprit in these wonderful drinks is barley or malt. You’ll find barley and malt in all sorts of different things from cereals, to chocolates, down to your favorite drinks. If you’re a morning coffee drinker and enjoy getting that tall, extra-whip, non-fat, soy, frapa-lappa (I still don’t know how to order the perfect coffee), then it’s best to check with the barista to see if the soy milk they’re using is sweetened with barley. Nine times out of ten it is.

So now that I’ve perhaps made your heart sink a bit lower know that your favorite foods may be sprinkled with a touch of wheat, I have something for you to lift your spirits… a recipe!